March 18, 2004: The DCS Pro 14n section of the database is no longer being updated, as we no longer have access to this camera.

CompactFlash Write Speed - Kodak DCS Pro 14n (Firmware Version 4.4.3)

The data in the table below was derived by timing how long it took the Kodak DCS Pro 14n to write out 6 RAW .DCR photos to the card. Timing commenced when the camera's card status light illuminated, and stopped when the light went out. Each test cycle was performed 3 times (if the card's capacity allowed for that) to ensure accurate results.

Card-to-card speed variation within the same brand and model, photographing scenes of varying detail and at different ISO settings - these and other factors may slightly alter write speed performance. As a result, write speed differences of 5% or less from card to card in the table below should be considered insignificant. If one card's write speed is within 5% of another's, the two cards are likely to offer effectively the same performance in the real world. Similarly, it's unlikely that most photographers would notice a difference between the fastest card and one that was up to 10% slower.

Note: The DCS Pro 14n includes its own write speed tester. It uses a different method of testing write speed that results in the 14n's throughput numbers being on the order of 20-35% higher than the numbers reported here. As a result, it's not possible to directly compare the throughput numbers generated by the camera with the data in the table below, though there is a rough correlation between the two in our testing.

The results are arranged in the table from fastest to slowest. The top 10% are marked in blue.

(1) To help determine whether the card you purchase is substantially similar to the one tested, the card's description includes an identifier - series number, internal name or other unique value - where possible and applicable. See How can I be sure the card I buy is the same as the one tested in this report? for information on interpreting the card identifier. With CompactFlash cards from companies that source components from other manufacturers, it's particularly important to compare the identifier noted here with the card you might select.(2) Many companies sell CompactFlash media; relatively few actually design and manufacture the key internal components, including the controller and flash memory. This column lists the manufacturer of the controller.(3) Type I CompactFlash cards are 3.3mm in thickness; Type II, 5.0mm.(4) K/sec = Kilobytes per second (1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes); MB/sec = Megabytes per second (1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes).(5) Companies that source CompactFlash cards from Toshiba may opt for either the faster single level cell (SLC) or slower (but less expensive to manufacture) multi level cell (MLC) arhictecture. The Kingston cards tested were MLC; the company does, however, offer SLC-based CompactFlash cards on special order. Kingston's SLC-based cards have "-S" appended to the end of their part number, ie CF/512-S. Not all of Kingston's distributors will have the SLC cards listed among the products they can ship to dealers. For more information, contact Kingston.(6) Delkin has not revealed the design and manufacturing partner for their Pro line of CompactFlash cards.(7) Pretec has not disclosed the source of the controller in the Pretec 512MB card tested.(8) These cards contain controllers from an unknown manufacturer, likely of Taiwanese origin.